The National LUST Cleanup Backlog: A Study of Opportunities

April 2011 - Vol. 30

Federal vs. State: Federal

Description: EPAs Office of Underground Storage Tanks is conducting an in-depth study of the backlog of leaking underground storage tanks (LUST). The study is based on release-level data from 14 state LUST programs. The goals of the study are to characterize the remaining LUST releases in the backlog by focusing on several release attributes (such as age, media affected, prioritization) and better understand these 14 state cleanup programs. The study will serve as the basis for EPA and our state partners to jointly develop national and state specific backlog reduction strategies. This effort will also help evaluate national annual cleanup performance goals and recalibrate those goals based on an increased understanding of the cleanup universe.